57. (a) Does Jesus here say that the master does appoint an “evil slave” at the start, or that the appointed slave turns out bad? (b) By the way in which Jesus introduces the matter, what was Jesus showing?

⁵⁷ When we take a close look at what Jesus here says, we notice that he does not here say that the departing “master” does appoint an “evil slave,” to begin with; nor does he say that the “faithful and discreet slave” turns out bad, becomes “evil.” He merely raises the question and says, “If ever” (as in Luke 12:45 and Interlinear reading in Matthew 24:48) the slave that was appointed over the domestics were to say, after his becoming “evil” at heart, that his master will yet be a long time in returning and were to start acting improperly, this is the way that his master would deal with him on returning. It would be far opposite from the slave’s being put over all his master’s belongings. So Jesus’ suggestion here is, Suppose that the appointed slave would turn out bad and act unfaithfully and imprudently, what would happen to him when his master suddenly returned? It would be just as Jesus described. Jesus does not speak of the original appointed slave’s turning out bad as a certainty or as very likely.

58. (a) How do other modern translations render the passage by means of paraphrase? (b) If the “slave” class appointed by Jesus went bad, how would this outcome leave Jesus?

⁵⁸ Some modern translations of Jesus’ words bring out that thought more clearly, by a bit of paraphrase. An American Translation says: “But if he is a bad slave and says to himself, ‘My master is going to stay a long time,’ and begins to beat the other slaves, and eats and drinks with the drunkards.” (Matthew 24:48, 49) The New English Bible reads similarly. The New American Bible says: “But if the servant is worthless and tells himself,” etc. The New Testament in Modern Speech, by R. F. Weymouth, says: “But, if the man, being a bad servant, should say in his heart,” etc. The coming of an “evil slave” into existence is not definitely predicted by Jesus. He merely describes how an unfaithful and indiscreet slave would think, speak and act, and the punishment that he would receive from his master on his sudden returning. If the “slave” appointed by the Lord Jesus turned out bad, it would leave him without a “slave” to reward for his integrity. Jesus does not appoint two slave classes.

61. What is it reasonable to say as to whether there would be cases that could be used to illustrate what Jesus said about the “evil slave”?

⁶¹ It is reasonable to believe that the Lord Jesus would not use an illustration without having some cases, or a general case, with which to furnish an example of what he meant, as far as conduct and the outcome thereof is concerned. This would illustrate, not that Jesus appointed “that evil slave” class or type of Christians, but that it really happens to unfaithful, unreliable, untrustworthy, indiscreet Christians during his invisible parousia or presence just as he described.

62. What instances of this were there, especially during World War I days, and how did this affect the “faithful and discreet slave” class?

⁶² There were instances of this in the ranks of the International Bible Students Association right after the death in 1916 C.E. of the editor of The Watch Tower and founder of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. There were attempts on the part of some individuals to seize power and control contrary to the provisions of the Society’s Charter. There were disagreements as to who made up the Lord’s approved organization. The power-seeking ones and those dissatisfied with sincere efforts to conduct matters according to the legal Charter and Bible principles were frustrated. They indulged in considerable ‘beating of their fellow slaves’ in a verbal way in print and by word of mouth and in judicial court. They put themselves on the side of the “confirmed drunkards” of this world, spiritually speaking, especially during those days of World War I. All of this put the stability of the organization, which was then under increasing religious persecution, to a great test. It brought a great trial upon the “faithful and discreet slave” class.